Somalis grow restless over ‘hawala’ freeze

Frustration has gripped the Somali community following allegations that the head of one of the largest telecommunication companies in Somalia was providing financial support to Al-Shabaab through the informal hawala money transfer system.

Mr Ali Ahmed Nur Jim’ale of Hormuud Telecommunications was accused by the United Nations Security Council, as being one of the financiers of Al-Shabaab, providing the group with funds besides weapons, private fighters and ammunition.

More anonymous

The report released by the Security Council’s Department of Public Information last month stated that Mr Jim’ale also established ZAAD, a mobile money transfer system that made “money transfers more anonymous by eliminating the need to show identification.”

The revelations, community elders and activists say, have dealt a blow to the battle to restore the flow of remittances through the hawala system from the United States.

“It really gets you worried when that call comes about at 3 a.m. or 4 am. from a family member back in the Horn, and you know you can’t send money to them,” Ms Hinda Ali of the Somali Action Alliance in Minnesota told the Sunday Nation by phone.

The Sunrise Community Bank, which was the last US bank to do business with the Somali hawalas, stopped dealing with all of them by end of last year. The banks said they feared federal indictment if some of the money ended up funding terrorist activities.

This has left the community with no option but to hold weekly protests and to demand that large banks reverse their decision or face the possibility of losing business.

In Minnesota, protesters gave US Bank and Wells Fargo until May 11 to address these concerns or lose a client base of more than 20,000 Somalis, who sau they will close their accounts to protest the decision.

Be held accountable

“We are hoping that it is going to be effective,” Ms Ali said. “Many religious institutions and individual businesses have accounts with these banks. The banks need to be held accountable.”

Ms Anya Svanoe, a community organiser in Minnesota, said the banks, and not the federal government, have power to decide whether or not to continue with the transfers.

“If matters are not resolved quickly, Wells Fargo risks further destroying any remaining credibility in the community as a socially responsible bank and more people will pull their money from this institution,” Ms Svanoe said via email.

However, some of the community members are sceptical about the effectiveness of the move.

“Somalis need to petition the government,” Abdibashir Ali, an economics student said. “Banks don’t want to be involved in lawsuits for sending money to Al-Shabaab.”

In early February, Ahmed Hussein Mohamed became the latest Minnesota resident to plead guilty to charges of raising and sending money to terrorist groups in Somalia.

In October last year, two Somali women were also convicted of collecting and sending up to $8,000 (Sh700,000) to al-Shabaab.

Hormuud, which Mr Jim’ale heads, was created by the former leaders of al-Barakaat, a leading telecom provider in Somalia that also had hawala services.

In 2006, after years of investigation, the US removed al-Barakat from its terror list after debunking suspicions that the company was used to transfer money used in the September 11 attacks in America.

Feeling the pinch

Back in Kenya, families and relatives dependent on remittances from the United States say they have been feeling the pinch.

Ms Ruqiyo Mohamed Hassan, a mother of nine, says the $400 (Sh32,000) she used to get from her sister helped to relieve some of her monthly expenses. Mrs Hassan says her husband is jobless and that she now worries over how to provide for her family.

Ms Khadijo Hassan Farah, 30, a mother of four in Ifo Camp in Dadaab, says lack of remittances has forced her to buy goods on credit from shops, andshe is worried her debt will skyrocket.

Remittances to Somalia each year are estimated at over $1 billion. The US Department of the Treasury estimates that ethnic Somalis in the United States contribute $1000 million.


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This article was originally posted on Africa ICT & Telecom Network

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